LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Zimbabwe has sufficient grain stocks in its strategic grain reserve, which will help ensure food security up to the next harvest, a new government report shows.
This comes after the second crop and livestock assessment report estimated that Zimbabwe’s maize production fell 43% to 1 557 914 metric tonnes (MT) in the 2021/22 cropping season from 2 717 171 MT produced in the 2020/21 season, a second crop assessment report shows.
The total cereal production is 1 752 014MT against a national cereal requirement of 2 267 599MT with 1 817 599Mt for human consumption and 350 000MT for livestock.
Although there is a deficit of 415 585 tonnes, the government is banking on strategic reserves.
There was a surplus of 522 913 tonnes of cereals from last year’s bumper harvest.
Government is confident there will be self-sufficiency.
“The country will meet its national food requirement up to the next harvest after considering strategic grain reserves.
“Human consumption is computed from a consumption rate of 120kg a person per year and a national population estimate of 15 146 657,” reads part of the report.
The report said rainfall distribution was poor in the 2021/22 cropping season.
There were incessant rains in January followed by prolonged dry spell in the first week of February to end of March.
The false start of the season resulted in failed crop establishment forcing most farmers to replant several times.
The late onset caused late plantings which were later affected by the prolonged dry spell at the reproductive stage causing write offs especially in the central and southern parts of the country.
The crop and livestock report highlighted that during April unusually heavy late rains have been received which should benefit the late planted crop.
The positive impact of these rains has not been evaluated but should generally result in improved production for most crops.
The incessant rains caused excessive leaching of nitrogen and other crop nutrients.
The Government has encouraged the farmers to plant traditional crops which are more resistant to the dry conditions but they yielded to prolonged dry spells leading to decreased production.
“Traditional grains production for the 2021/2022 season is estimated at 194 100MT representing a 44% decrease from 347 968MT in 2020/2021.
“Sorghum production is expected to be 144 633MT which is 41% lower than 244 063Mt obtained during the 2020/2021 season.
“Pearl Millet Production is expected to be at 44 143MT which is 51% less than 90 683MT obtained during 2020/2021,” the report said.
Finger Millet production is expected to be at 5 320MT which is a 60% decrease from 13 223Mt produced in the 2020/2021 season.
Northern parts of Mashonaland and some parts of Manicaland provinces received their first effective rainfall very late, as late as the second and third dekad of December.
It has been established that most wards in the Mashonaland West and Central provinces have a cereal grain sufficiency of more than 12 months.
Most of the wards in the southern region of the country have cereal sufficiency lasting up to nine months only.
The most affected districts in the South-Eastern parts of the country include Buhera, Chimanimani, Bikita, Parts of Chipinge South, Zaka and Mutare West
In the Southern parts of the country, the most affected districts are Beitbridge, Matobo, Umzingwane, Bulilima and Mangwe.
In the southern parts of the country, the onset of the 2021/2022 rains was earlier from late October to early November though this proved to be a false start of the season.
This was followed by a long dry spell which led to poor crop stand with some farmers replanting.
Overall, the yield per hectare was poor this past summer cropping season due to false start rains and incessant rainfall patterns.
